European Family Packing Guide

Should or do I need to bring specific items to pack while travelling to Europe? Yes! And you are going to want to read this! So you are heading to Europe right? Here is your European Family Packing Guide and there are certainly some items that you should certainly think about bringing while travelling to Europe with KIDS… that could actually save you some $$… err €. Please keep in mind many items you can certainly buy super cheap once you get over here or you may bring them if you have the room.

Sippy Cups: Have little kids or big kids that like to knock over their cups? I recommendbring some sippy cupsfor one. We have NOT being a restaurant yet that serves little kids plastic cups with lids. So to save yourself the embarrassment of a broken wine glass stuff some in your suitcase OR get some cups while you are at a McDonald’s OR just buy some when you get to Europe. I love the toss-able cups that you would find in Target, Walmart or etc. I also recommend bringing a plastic plate for each child too… they give breakables to them as well!

My friend posted this photo while she was in France on holiday. Her host only gave her family of 5 one towel to share.

TOWELS! Oh my! You will completely understand when you see the towels.. The bath towels are more like hand towels to be honest. AND just to let you know sometimes hotels charge extra for towels. I have see it up to 7€ PER towel (for us that would be 35€! YIKES!). They also sometimes charge for linens as well. But it is up to YOU if you can bring these items OR fit them for that matter.

First Aid Kit & Over the Counter Medicines: I have found that sometimes the European medications are not as strong as the US ones and I sometimes prefer the American medicines. It is always nice to have a first aid kit… my kids are accident prone.

Swimsuit: It doesn’t matter what time of year it is because there are a TON of indoor water-parks ALL over Europe. i.e. as Tropical Islands which is about 1 hour outside of Berlin. Plus I am sure some of you are brave enough to do a polar bear plunge right? Yeah not me either. Ha!

Snacks! Mmm snacks! Nothing beats some midnight snacks. In fact when we travel anywhere.. even when we flew to Disney World I had a snack suitcase! Of course you can’t bring meat or anything, but having some ramen noodles, mac & cheese cups, chips etc. will help your hunger. Though you could always get some on the economy as well. I guess you just need to make sure that your accommodations has a microwave or some sort of heating element.

Jacket & Umbrella: Could you need a jacket even in summer? Yes! Very much possible. When we went on our cruise in April 2015 in the Mediterranean it was still quite chilly and guess what we didn’t pack? A jacket. AND when we went on our trip to Edinburgh in June 2015, the first day it was 75 and sunny but the rest of the days it was 45 degrees with rain and hurricane force winds. Lets just say we were NOT prepared for that. I also recommend bringing an umbrella while in Europe!

First day in Edinburgh, Scotland

Next day in Edinburgh, Scotland… starting to get cold. Buuuurrr

Rome in April… pretty chilly.

Beautiful sunny day in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Needed our umbrella in Strasbourg, France.

So there are just a few tips for when you are packing to hop the pond! Do you have any more tips? Share them below!

Thank you for reading!

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Jennifer is a US-expat living in Europe. She is a travel blogger specializing in Kid Friendly travel. She loves travelling, spending time with her family, drinking coffee (about 1x per month... so she is a little crazy) and an overall awesome person. Well at least I think I am awesome. Thank you for reading!